Jon Wolfe stays true to his honky-tonking roots

1of 4Oklahoma native Jon Wolfe got his start as a country singer in Houston.

2of 4Jon Wolfe says new album "Natural Man" finally captures his full essence as a performer and a person.

3of 4Cover art for "Natural Man" by Jon Wolfe.

4of 4Wolfe, a native of Oklahoma, honed his tried-and-true country style playing at honky-tonks in the Houston area.

Jon Wolfe sounds like a country singer. And it makes him a bit of an oddity - edgy, even - in a genre that's evolved considerably from the days of George Jones, George Strait and Garth Brooks.

Traditionalists scoff at today's sound, which now incorporates everything from pop and rock to R&B and EDM (electronic dance music).

Don't expect Wolfe to jump on that train.

"I'm gonna do me. Y'all do you. I can't be Sam Hunt if I tried, and I wouldn't be happy doing it," Wolfe says, referencing the current country breakout whose sound owes as much to Justin Timberlake as it does Brad Paisley.

"Sam Hunt's doing a great Sam Hunt. That's all fine. But I'm gonna try to be the best Jon Wolfe I can possibly be. If mainstream country music has a place for me, I'm gonna give it everything I got. If they don't, I know my fans have a place for me."

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Wolfe, who now calls Austin home, was formerly an oil trader with BP. The Oklahoma native spent a couple of years, 2003-2005, honing his sound in Houston, playing Blanco's, Firehouse Saloon and Continental Club. His former roommate is Hayes Carll, who has gone on to national acclaim.

"Everything that I've done has been born out of honky-tonks in Houston," Wolfe says. "Houston was always kinda like my home."

His new album, "Natural Man," sticks to the tried-and-true country formula. It's a cowboy hat and jeans kind of sound, rooted in the '90s and full of tributes to beautiful women and broken hearts. At the same time, it never feels like a complete throwback. Wolfe's vocal delivery and pristine production keep things fresh - a modern twist that still honors genre traditions.

Breezy first single "Smile on Mine" is earning steady spins on Texas radio. The album is online and in stores March 31. His date at the Hideout at RodeoHouston kicks off the first of more than 20 dates on the "Natural Man" release tour.

"It seems a little cliché to say, but I honest-to-God feel more sure of myself now as an artist and as a singer than I've ever been," he says. "I think after 10 years, I've found my voice. I continue to fall in love more and more with this record as the days go on for me."

Indeed, "Natural Man" marks real growth for Wolfe as a singer and as a performer. Strait is the obvious influence and one that he's never shied away from. But it's less imitation and more emulation.

Wolfe credits "a wider variety of emotions and feelings" in the songwriting - the autobiographical "Singin' Thing," rambling man ode "Married to Nothin'" and set closer "When I Get to Heaven" - which mines classic country sentiment.

"There are so many artists who grow up and emulate their heroes," Wolfe says. "I think Merle Haggard thought he was Lefty Frizzell. George Strait wanted to be Merle Haggard. I wanted to be George Strait. I think that's part of being a traditional country singer. It's like we're all connected in a way. But you live under that pretense. It's like a comfort zone.

"I think when you become the artist is when you finally go, 'I don't need to do that anymore. I don't wanna do that anymore. I don't care.' I feel way more at ease and natural in what I'm doing now."

"Natural Man" is the first Wolfe album released through Tone Tree Music, whose roster has included the Civil Wars, Holly Williams and Mindy Smith. His last effort, a deluxe edition of "It All Happened in a Honky Tonk," was through Warner Bros. in early 2013 and sold 25,000 copies. They mutually parted ways soon after but still maintain a good relationship.

He has high hopes for the new stuff. But even if it doesn't scale the top of the charts, Wolfe plans to stick with this singin' thing for the long haul.

"I'm proud of what I'm doing. I work around the clock at it. I've gotten healthier and tried to stay away from the pitfalls of the road," he says.

"I owe that to myself and to my fans - whether it's 100 or 1,000 or 2 million."

Joey Guerra is the music critic for the Houston Chronicle. He also covers various aspects of pop culture. He has reviewed hundreds of concerts and interviewed hundreds of celebrities, from Justin Bieber to Dolly Parton to Beyonce. He’s appeared as a regular correspondent on Fox26 and was head judge and director of the Pride Superstar singing competition for a decade. He has been named journalist of the year multiple times by both OutSmart Magazine and the FACE Awards. He also covers various aspects of pop culture, including the local drag scene and "RuPaul's Drag Race."